Nips To Be Banned On Nantucket

Nipples might soon be free on Nantucket, but nips will be banned from the island.

Town Meeting voters overwhelmingly approved a new ban on plastic alcohol containers of 100 milliliters or less, commonly referred to as nips. The final vote on Article 69 was 496 people in favor of the ban, versus just 73 opposed.

The proposal started as a citizen petition by Bruce Mandel, who could not attend the meeting, but asked island resident Pam Murphy to make the pitch to voters on his behalf.

“This is important to reduce litter and toxic elements flowing into our lands and beaches and the Nantucket environment,” Murphy said, citing other towns - including Chelsea and Falmouth - that had already banned nips. “This is not about drinking alcohol, this is about protecting Nantucket’s finite resources, natural environment and aquifer. These are tailored for one purpose: on-the-go consumption which creates litter”

The proposal received support from charter boat captain Bob DeCosta, who said he finds hundreds of them around his boat every summer, as well as Anne Dewez, a longtime member of the Nantucket Clean Team who said nips are “one of the most frequent items we pick up.”

If approved by the state Attorney General, the ban will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.